The Hayabusa
The new Hayabusa shinkansen, or bullet train, departs from Aomori station in Aomori, northern Japan March 5. The new bullet train debuted on Saturday on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line which is the first new model deployed by the service's operator, East Japan Railway Co., since December 1997. It can travel at speeds of up to 300 km per hour and it has the longest nose of any shinkansen at 15 meters. REUTERS

Japan has launched a next-generation high-speed bullet train dubbed Hayabusa, which can reach 300 km in six minutes flat.

The latest gray and silver jewel will travel twice a day, between Tokyo and Aomori, on the Northern tip of Honshu Island, which had been separated from the railway system until now. It will travel 675 kilometers in 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Mutsutake Otsuka, chairman of East Japan Railway Co, said: To the best of our ability, we will strive to improve Hayabusa's passenger comfort, safety and environmental friendliness, not just its speed.

Scheduled to make two round trips between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori and one between Tokyo and Sendai Station in the Miyagi prefectural capital every day, the 10-car trains began service after departure ceremonies at both Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations, the Mainchi Daily News reports.

The Hayabusa, whose seats are all reserved, has 18 Grand Class seats, a new class likened to first class in airplanes, costing 26,360 yen. Ordinary and premium Green Car seats are priced at 16,870 yen and 21,360 yen, respectively.

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